Comments Off on “MGSV: Parasitic Legacy” Video attempts to show the Sins of the Father

I won’t embed the video here since there is a special page for it over at the SnakeSoup. It’s probably best to go there and see the introduction and follow-up material provided by Ravi Singh. On this page I’ll give my impressions of the video and reply to its arguments.

Comments Off on GamesDoneLegit has some Metal Gear reading suggestions

I’m happy to see that my humble blog has appeared on the list of recommended reading presented by GamesDoneLegit, called “6 Metal Gear Solid Reads That Will Change How You See The World“. Chris Hatala describes the articles, sites and books that had an impact on him. It’s great to see somebody really digging into the intellectual side of the series, as Kojima intended.

I noticed he said he’d like to know more about my upcoming Metal Gear book, and honestly I am so closed to finished that I’m planning to make an update video pretty soon. It may seem like it’s taking a long time, but considering I work full time and the book involves fact-checking and digging up old material, I think I’m making pretty decent progress. How soon is “soon”? Who knows, I don’t have a very open schedule!

Hideo Kojima was legally prevented from attending the Video Game Awards yesterday. During the ceremony MGSV won an award for Best Action/Adventure Game, and Keifer Sutherland went up to accept it on Kojima’s behalf. (Sutherland noted that Metal Gear Solid fans are the most devoted of any he’s ever seen, saying that of all the things he’s done in the past, the only posters he seems to sign are for Snake in MGS.)

“Mr. Kojima had every intention of being with us tonight, but unfortunately he was informed by a lawyer representing Konami just recently that he would not be allowed to travel to tonight’s award ceremony to accept any awards. He’s still under employment contract and it’s disappointing — it’s inconceivable to me that an artist like Hideo would not be allowed to come here and celebrate with his peers and his fellow teammates. Such an incredible game, is Metal Gear Solid 5, but that’s the situation we’re in. Hideo is in Tokyo right now, watching the show, so I want you to know, Hideo, that we’re thinking of you, and we miss you. We hope to see you at The Game Awards 2016.”

Clearly this is the most pathetic move yet by Konami. It truly does seem like pure animosity toward Kojima, which begs the question of what exactly he did to piss them off so much. The game has sold incredibly well, and obviously it won an award, so it is mind-boggling why things would continue to drag out in such an ugly fashion.

I can’t wait to find out what the hell is going on yet.

Also, Jade Raymond — who many speculate was drunk at the event — took a moment to spit on the decision to replace David Hayter in Metal Gear Solid V. Here’s a video of that. I don’t see this as a jab at Sutherland, just pent up disbelief that Hayter was rudely snubbed for the role.

Mr. Sylazhov returns with his latest guest article the day before the release of Metal Gear Solid V, to examine the extremely important matter of torture, in both the real world and the fictional one Kojima uses to show his views.

The methods, reasons, and history of torture are discussed, along with a personal story that drives home the reality of the barbaric practices used by military and spy agencies around the world. This article was finished quite a while ago, but I’m publishing it on the eve of The Phantom Pain to emphasize the seriousness of its controversial subject matter.

Warning: Some graphic content follows.

The Ideology of Torture

A personal, political, and philosophical study of torture in the MGS series and the real world

I would like to dedicate the following piece to the victims of
the dictatorship in my country, and to all victims of
political repression from any side of the political spectrum.

The following guest article was written by a friend and author, Alexander Sylazhov, who you ought to remember fondly from his Big Boss as Che Guevara article; I titled that article in order to highlight one of my favorite aspects of it, but it certainly went well beyond that. I’m deeply honored to be able to present his new article, which is the kind of analysis I would love to be able to do myself. With the upcoming release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain less than a month away, this in-depth exploration of ideology, politics, and pop culture in the Metal Gear series is a fascinating must-read from a talented writer from a different side of the world.

Obviously Jim Sterling is not an expert on the inner workings of Konami, but I found this to be an interesting take on the overall changes happening at Konami right now. He doesn’t focus too much on Kojimagate, but he does lend credibility to the idea that the company might just be stupid enough to burn that bridge in the worst ways: